Founded in 2004 by a group of young and sports fanatic people in Austria, the United World Games for youth have grown from 1300 athletes from 12 countries in 2005 to more than 2500 athletes from 17 countries in 2006, both times in Klagenfurt, Austria.

The concept of Sport Youth Games with a unique Olympic-like atmosphere and big fun potential, yet with enough time for personal and intercultural encounters even off the fields, seems to attract more and more people every year.

Due to the massive interest and the enormous demand the Organizing Committee of the United World Games has decided to hold the 2007 UWG in two Austrian cities - Klagenfurt and Vienna. With more than 1,500 athletes from the United States having registered already, a record number of participants is almost guaranteed.

The basketball, soccer and volleyball tournaments will be played in Klagenfurt, while five other disciplines will be offered in Vienna - baseball, swimming, tennis, wrestling and bowling. The bowling event will takes place at the Brunswick Bowling Center Hernals (Posthalle).

"This is a special event, because it is more then just bowling. It is even more then just sport," said Wolfgang Lohschmid (pictured left). The tournament director of the Vienna Open will take care of the UWG bowling competition in Vienna.

"I hope that the bowling federations throughout the world and especially here in Europe are as fascinated by this idea as I am", Lohschmid added. "I wish that as many youth bowlers as possible will get a chance to participate in this United World Games."

The 32-laner has hosted numerous Austrian tournaments as well as international tournaments such as the European Seniors Championships or the European Corporative Championships in 2006. The center was totally refurbished last summer and it is now a modern Brunswick US Play.

"Deadline to enter the United World Games 2007 is Wednesday, May 2, 2007. Only federations meeting the deadline for submitting Form A can participate," Lohschmid said.

However, with the total number of bowlers limited to a maximum of 150, it could be very important to register earlier. "Registrations will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis," Lohschmid states. "We may increase the number of players for 2008, but we cannot exceed 150 this year."

The players from the United States will be accompanied by Team USA Head Coach Jeri Edwards (pictured left).

She will also work with the young people and prepare them for the games. However, all youth bowlers may ask her questions during the UWG.

"This might be a great experience for the youngsters", said Lohschmid.

Form A, which confirms the participation and the number of players from the respective federation, and also Form B, which is the hotel reservation form, can be found in Bulletin No. 1.

Scroll down for the tournament information or download Bulletin No. 1 at the bottom of this page. Bulletin 2 is supposed to be released in May. Hereafter, all details related to the UWG including confirmation of hotel room reservation and arrival/departure information will be available at the UWG website. Therefore there will be no Bulletin 3.

A final issue of the schedule will be released as soon as the exact number of players is known (not before May 2, 2007).

The UWG Bowling Championships will be divided into two events: Five-Player Teams and Singles. Both will be played with handicap. The Singles competition will also be divided into two divisions - boys and girls - each separated into two age groups - 11-14 years old and 15-18 years old.

The 5 players forming a team will be drawn on Thursday June 28 at 18:00 in the bowling center (see time schedule). The members of a team can come from different countries, can have different age and of course different averages. Therefore a handicap system will be used. The handicap is based on the official average filled in by the players' federation in Form E. If an average is not known or not filled in, the player will be assigned to Group A.

The five-player teams bowl four sets of thee games (total 12 games). The lanes will be changed after every game. The team on the left lane changes 10 lanes to the left and the team on the right lane changes 10 lanes to the right. The whole center will be played and you meet a different team after each game. Depending on the total number of participating teams, the event is preliminarily scheduled for maximum three days. After the last game the winning teams will be honored.

The 30 girls and boys of each age group with the highest score including handicap from the Team Event will qualify for the Singles Event.

Pinfall will be carried forward. All players bowl one six-game series. Lane change according to the Team Event. The top 4 girls and the top 4 boys in each age group with the highest pinfall total including handicap after 18 games (12 games team and 6 games singles) will advance to the stepladder finals.

No. 4 bowls No. 3, the winner bowls No. 2, and the winner of that match bowls the No. 1 seed for the title. All matches over one game.

Each Round of the stepladder matches will be played simultaneously. After the stepladder finals the Victory Ceremony will conclude the championships.

During the entire championships the official WTBA rules will apply!